Effect of Alcohols, Aldehydes and their Derivatives to Induce Nutritional Encephalomalacia in Starting Chicks

Abstract

n-Decyl (C₁₀), undecyl (C₁₁), lauryl (C₁₂) and myristyl (C₁₄) alcohols induced nutritional encephalomalacia, when fed to one-day-old White Leghorn male chicks for 3 weeks, while n-heptyl (C₇), n-octyl (C₈), n-nonyl (C₉), cetyl (C₁₆) and stearyl (C₁₈) alcohols did not. Esters of the former group, i.e. n-decyl acetate, lauryl stearate and dilauryl succinate, and aldehydes corresponding to the former group, i.e. n-decyl aldehyde and lauraldehyde, also had the ability to induce encephalomalacia. The disease can be completely prevented by dietary supplementation of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate. Median lethal dietary level of n-decyl and lauryl alcohols and lauraldehyde was estimated to be 20, 18, and 12%, respectively.